Product Description

For programmers, analysts, and database administrators, "SQL in a Nutshell" is the essential reference for the SQL language used in today's most popular database products. This new edition clearly documents every SQL command according to the latest ANSI standard, and details how those commands are implemented in Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Oracle 11g, and the MySQL 5.1 and PostgreSQL 8.3 open source database products. You'll also get a concise overview of the Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) model, and a clear-cut explanation of foundational RDBMS concepts - all packed into a succinct, comprehensive, and easy-to-use format. This book provides: background on the Relational Database Model, including current and previous SQL standards; fundamental concepts necessary for understanding relational databases and SQL commands; an alphabetical command reference to SQL statements, according to the SQL2003 ANSI standard; the implementation of each command by MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server; an alphabetical reference of the ANSI SQL2003 functions, as well as the vendor implementations; and, platform-specific functions unique to each implementation. "SQL in a Nutshell" begins where vendor documentation ends, by distilling the experiences of professional database administrators and developers who have used SQL variants to support complex enterprise applications. Whether SQL is new to you, or you've been using SQL since its earliest days, you'll get lots of new tips and techniques in this book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280441 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 578 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
SQL in a Nutshell applies the classic O'Reilly Nutshell format to Structured Query Language (SQL), the elegant descriptive language that's used to create and manipulate stores of data. This book explains the purpose and proper syntax of hundreds of SQL statements as defined in four major SQL implementations, detailing each entry with explanatory text and illustrative examples. Perhaps best of all, authors Kevin and Daniel Kline feature MySQL in their coverage, giving it billing equal to that of Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. Their inclusion of open-source MySQL, which carries no license fee in most situations, is recognition of its growing popularity and suitability for serious database applications. It also improves this book's appeal to Unix and Linux developers.

The majority of this slender book comprises eminently useful syntax documentation (which is in the style of Unix man pages, with bracketed options and monospace arguments) and the other information that's specific to individual statements and functions. Additionally, it includes a relatively small amount of conceptual information, such as a section on the proper use of NULL values. The material that's not statement-specific also contrasts the four covered platforms' implementations of datatypes--readers learn that a PostgreSQL int2 value is known as a "smallint" in ANSI standard SQL, for example. This is a handy reference book, particularly if you use one of the emphasised SQL implementations. --David Wall

Topics covered: Structured Query Language (SQL) as it is implemented in Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL, as well as in ANSI standard SQL (SQL92 and SQL99). After an introduction to datatypes and relational database fundamentals (the latter is not emphasised), the authors document SQL statements and functions one by one, alphabetically. They take care to point out differences among the four implementations.

Major Keary, PC Update March 2002
An invaluable desktop reference for those who deal with SQL at a professional level. Compact and well designed.

From the Publisher
SQL in a Nutshell is a practical and useful command reference to the latest release of the Structured Query Language (SQL99). For experienced SQL programmers, analysts, and database administrators, it's a handy key to each of the SQL commands and its use in both commercial (Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Oracle 8i) and open source (MySQL, PostgreSQL 7.0) implementations. SQL in a Nutshell is also a great learning resource for novice and auxiliary SQL users.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing, but still a useful book
I had hoped that this would be a concise but complete reference on building SQL statements, but it lacks some of the most basic explanations (try looking up UNION queries in the index - it's not there!!!). Disappointing, considering the many other 'In A Nutshell' series books I have are indespensible. This one reads more like a 'white paper' than a user reference book. Expensive too, considering how thin it is.

Good SQL reference book.
It is definitely not a book to learn SQL, however I found it useful as a reference point to translate a particular flavour of SQL into another flavour of SQL.

Let's face it, just from the size of the book, we can quickly establish that it won't get into too much detail, but it is great for quickly looking up syntax if you can't quite pin point it in your mind.

Not ideal for beginners.

Too much detail on too few subjects
I was looking for a refernce book to tell me how to do things with SQL (in particular MySQL). Something I could turn to to find the right command or structure. Mostly it fails to help me with that. It seems to lack simple administration techniques, which is one thing I really wanted...

It's good to compare main features of the covered SQL languages - MS, MySQL, Oracle, Postgre - but for the intermedate user there's too much detail on too few subjects.